Trust HIS Plan, Share HIS Love, Reach HIS People.: "a little bit of righteousness goes a long way."

Last night I was reminded of an important characteristic of God and a valuable perspective that He has of His people. I listened to a podcast of Andy Stanley discussing the story of Abraham, Lot, and the city of Sodom (Genesis 18 and 19). Sodom, in its state of immorality, is deserving of being destroyed. However, for the sake of a small percentage of righteous people in a population of people living in sin, God is willing to save the city. We serve a just God, but a God that is not quick to judge or in a rush to punish sin. And the presence of righteousness, even just a little bit, preserves the unrighteous and stalls Him from giving the people what they deserve. Where there is righteousness, there is hope for the unrighteous... We are God's hope in this sinful world, and even a little bit of righteousness goes a long way...

One of my biggest prayers going into this journey was that God would provide some sort of orphanage ministry here, and He of course has already begun answering those prayers. I've had the opportunity to visit and become involved in an orphanage, in a Roma community near the outskirts of Miskolc. There are
about 40 kids living at the orphanage, ranging from ages 3 to 17. There are 4 houses that the kids stay in, one being called a "medical house" and is where all of the younger children live. They call it the medical house because each of the kids has some sort of special need.. Gergo has only one kidney and some specific nutritional needs because of it, Marko has a pace maker, Ricsi has some behavioral problems, and then there's Vikki, who I think is just hyperactive and maybe has some sort of learning disability as well. All of the small children in the orphanage, and most of the others were abandoned by their parents because of a need that they couldn't meet or weren't willing to take on, so many of them have brothers and sisters that still live with their parents, but were chosen to be sent away to the orphanage. Living with that knowledge must be very rough on them to begin with, and to amplify their insecurity, they're all Roma, so they're dismissed by society as well.

The Roma, or Gypsies is the discriminative term, are targets of extreme racism in eastern Europe. I've noticed that you can't even say "Roma" in the streets without getting a look, they may not be served in a restaurant or grocery store, they will sometimes get on the bus or public transportation and announce that they are Roma, acknowledging that they are aware that everyone there knows it and thinks they're dirty and responsible for crime and disease, and it's very likely that the students from the orphanage aren't spoken to by many at school.

Today while Abby and I were on the bus on our way to the orphanage, we ended up on the same bus as 3 of the children. At first I didn't see them, but once my eyes met Erno's (one of the teenage boys), his face lit up and he waved enthusiastically, and after getting the attention of Dori and Patricia (14- and 12-year old girls) they excitedly pushed their way over to Abby and I. Without even thinking twice, we emphatically embraced them all and started chatting the best we could. It was probably the most elated I have ever seen them, and after a few minutes I realized why... we were acknowledging them, accepting them, SPEAKING TO THEM.. in public! If there were onlooking bystanders wondering about the two American girls wrapping three Roma kids up in their arms, I didn't notice.. but I secretly hope that every oppressive eye on that crowded bus was watching us intently.. witnessing the love and acceptance that those amazing, sweet, and beautiful Roma children received from us in those 15 minutes. "A little goes a long way..."

I have already fallen in love with the kids there and our visits are becoming a very regular thing. About 2 weeks ago, we held a kids event in which the pastor of the church I attend came and gave a little talk, we brought tons of food, I made brownies with some of the kids, Abby choreographed a dance to teach some of the girls, and my friends Philip and Anna played football (soccer) with them. It was like a huge party for them, and they were all sad to see us leave, but they're starting to learn that we always come back, and their walls are coming down because of it. Last week we held our first Bible study there with some of the teens.. it was mixed because we didn't have a male translator, but Abby and I are hoping to split genders a couple times a month to really be able to pour into these girls. We got to hear a lot about their lives and beliefs in God, things they fear, areas they struggle with, and their inevitable hopelessness. This week we're going to be starting English lessons as well one night per week.

Pray that God will open doors and hearts in this orphanage, especially lifting up Eszter, Dori, Patricia, and Vali, four teenage girls that I am drawn to immensely and can see the searching that is going on inside of them. Pray for opportunities for me to connect with them, relate to them, show them Christ's abundant love for them, and show an interest and concern for their lives.